


New Life: MCU

by clareturner23



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, F/M, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2020-10-13 00:03:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20573135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clareturner23/pseuds/clareturner23
Summary: Tony, Loki, and Natasha are reborn shortly after the events of Avengers: Endgame. They remember everything, have powers/skills as they had in their previous life. The catch is that they are the opposite sex.





	1. Iron Martyr

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tonya has been reborn from Tony Stark. She remembers everything and is living a peaceful life with her best friend and former villain Lori with their child Katerina (2.0). Everything was normal until Steve Rogers shows up outside of her forge...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Martyr-Tony (Tonya)
> 
> Tragic Villain-Loki (Lori)
> 
> Sacrifice- Natasha- (Jeremy-for the lolz)
> 
> AN: I do not own the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I also do not own Spiderman since I may end up having Peter show up at some point… Stupid Sony and Disney… they ruin everything!!!!!!! Anyway, I only own the original worlds and characters that I mention and introduce in this story. Katerina comes from a headcanon that I have for Loki and Tony that is more-so explored in other fics (published or not). I figured… Loki is a shapeshifting mischief maker…. And in all the stories a parent to a fair few. Tony was a big manwhore before Pepper along with being a drunk. Why would he not have a child with Loki??
> 
> AN2: I originally had another series like this… but I figured out more to it so I am going to rewrite it. Instead of having EVERYONE come through in portals, I decided only a select few will do so. That is how the world will become unstable and unbalanced.

_Old habits die hard. _ Who says blacksmithing and engineering that are for men only? Anyone? No. This may be a new life, but the soul of Tony Stark still belonged to Tonya. _ CLANG TING _. The love of creating and inventing things never left her life and neither did the love of classic rock. At the age of 16, she remembered every memory from Tony Stark. She had no powers and was still only human… But the genius never left. She not only did blacksmithing in her spare time and worked on things in her private workshop, but she also worked for her father’s company. 

This time around, their relationship was not strained. It was their time of penance. Howard’s soul was reborn along with Maria’s. There was no Hydra to kill them this time and their relationship with their only daughter was closer than it had ever been. It was a happy life. Tonya did not _ need _ to create Ironman this time. He didn’t need to help save the world. Their business was still about inventions and gadgets, but things that helped rather than hurt the population. She still obtained various degrees of mastery and even doctorates by the time she was 21, but this time she wanted more. She chose to take some more liberal arts courses and never stopped learning and going for an English Degree just because she had the money to. 

She was less of a party animal this time around and only drank occasionally at parties. Her ambitions never ended with Tony Stark. She whizzed through every class she took and found that she really enjoyed writing. 

It was a strange sensation… Giving up her life to save Millions even Billions of people. Something no one, including him...herself thought was possible. After which was the start of a brand new journey… he woke up in a strange place. Some kind of weird afterlife. Natasha was there poking at him like she’s seen a ghost. 

**Flashback**

_ “Hey hey! Don’t poke me! I just saved the Universe!” he said pushing her away. He still did not like being touched. _

_ “I just wanted to make sure you were actually here. I’ve been spending my time with Mr. Illusions over there…” she said rolling her eyes motioning to Loki. “He won’t stop messing with me using Bruce’s form…” _

_ “Loki is here? I thought evil aliens went like… somewhere else… where are we anyway.” _

_ “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that Stark,” Loki said rolling his eyes. “Did Thor not tell you I changed my ways since we last met?” _

_ “No, he did… I’m just not sure if I believe him. He is a bit naive… Plus he said you gave Thanos the tesseract?” _

_ “Yes, well he wasn’t lying. Anyway, we have different versions of the afterlife on Asgard… I was hoping to find my mother at least, but instead, I was left here… in a strange place alone. As for giving the Tesseract to Thanos… that’s a different matter entirely. It was not to betray Thor as you may think. The space stone showed me the future. One where Thor and the rest of Asgard are back together. Alive. Thanos would leave once I gave it to him, but if I did not he would have killed Thor and then myself. Another version of me would survive and learn the correct path once more. That version of me was controlled by Thanos… hence why I attacked Earth in the first place. All I ever wanted was a family. When Frigga… when my mother died I thought had nothing left… I thought so anyway…” _

_ “So, in the end, you were the good guy?” Natasha asked with a raised eyebrow. “Yet you were annoying the hell out of me until Tony showed…” _

_ “I’ve changed my mindset of good and bad, but not the mischievousness.” He smirked. _

_ Tony rolled his eyes. “Yea, yea, the question is where the hell are we anyway? I thought I’d see like everyone else…” _

_ The next voice was someone unfamiliar. “You are not in an afterlife that you know of.” A man appeared. He wore normal, casual clothing. “My name is Zehikari. Like you, Loki, I am known as a god of mischief in a world named Nionia, but also the god of reincarnation. This is a celestial plane in between the Universe you are from and that of my own. I have chosen you three after the events of Thanos’ destruction. I have chosen a world similar to Earth to send various people who have died in various universes to start a new life. It is more of an experiment if you will. My brother creates worlds and decided that I can bring my mischievousness to that world rather than ruin all of his so-called _ playthings _ . In that world, I have chosen three people from each universe yet in some cases there are less. They usually go in the same format. The Martyr, the sacrifice, and the tragic or mislead villain.” _

_ “Is that last one supposed to be him?” Natasha asked rolling her eyes. “I mean, that little ball thing showed us what happened to Tony so obviously the martyr is him. I sacrificed myself for the soul stone, and Loki is obviously the third choice.” _

_ “I’m more interested to know what you want from us. Has my mother been reborn in this strange world of yours?” Loki asked standing up with his arms folded. _

_ “Yes, Frigga, as well as Odin has been reborn. Hella as well have been born as their elder daughter. Without powers, it seems she is perfectly fine and not evil. It’s strange though… I know the actual God Loki, and his daughter is Hella. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is so strange. Tell me, did you truly have a child with a horse or is that still just the Norse Myth of your Earth?” _

_ The strange god smirked amused as Loki’s usually pale face turned pink and a bit embarrassed. “Yes… that… is true. The children I had, with the exception of Hella, are the same as in the mythos…” _

_ “Wait… you _ actually _ gave birth to an eight-legged horse?” Tony asked out loud not being able to control his laughter. “Man, I don’t think I can look at you and horses the same again!” _

_ “Glad you find it so amusing Stark, In one version of your universe, Loki tricked you at a new year's party in 2000. A little while later your daughter was born… Though I wonder if that is actually true or not of your own or if it is just in the one timeline.” _

_ Tony froze and stared at Loki. “Please… please tell me that this is just some kinda weird fanfiction or something someone came up with…” _

_ Loki sat back down on the bench that was provided in response looking upset. “It… is not… She died alongside my mother. Frigga was the only one who knew she existed and the dark elves murdered the child in cold blood. She was a lot more like you in personality than me, yet very powerful when she wanted to be. Frigga was planning on having Miss Foster take her down to Earth to be safe, but it was too late it seems. The only guard who knew of Katerina’s existence told me and I lost control. I never told Thor because if he knew I did not want to burden you with the news that you had a daughter that I kept from you…” he finished. _

_ Tony was honestly shocked at the story. He had two little girls… If he knew about her, he would definitely do everything he could to be a good dad… he sat down on the rock nearby. He hated how naive and drunkard he was back then. He was sure Pepper would not have minded helping him raise a child by Loki… After he drank a whole bottle of whiskey that is... _

_ “Right… Sorry.” _

_ Zehikari frowned. “I am sorry for all the losses you have had in this timeline Loki,” he said softly. “I have had my share of loss due to my brother’s rage. My only daughter can never live an immortal life and is forced to be reborn only when my wife and I have the ability to be reborn ourselves. My brother enjoys cursing others while I prefer making lives better.” _

_ Nat was frowning. She felt bad now and she could see that Tony felt regret of not knowing his eldest daughter. “So… what do you want then?” She asked. “Obviously there is something you want from us.” _

_ “Right, I apologize for getting so off-topic,” Zehikari said with a small bow of the head. “As I have said, the world I spoke of earlier is full of those reincarnated from your world. I will give you three the chance to be reborn. At the age of 16, the age of maturity in the main world of Nionia, you will regain all the memories and powers of your past selves. If your parents have perished before you, they will be mature enough to have you once more. In Loki’s case… your adopted parents will be your _ true _ parents this time around. If you choose to have Katerina despite if you love each other or not, it is still possible since Loki will have the shape-shifting power. No one else will remember or have power. However, you all have the choice of one person. That special person has to be close to you enough that one familial or loving kiss will give them the memories and powers of that world. Though it would be a good idea to make sure that they do not tell anyone else.” _

_ Loki was attentive to every word. _ ** _Frigga? I will be her proper son this time? And the ability to give her memories and powers as well… _ ** _ “There has to be a catch, Zehikari. This offer seems too good to be true. Especially for us.” _

_ “Always quick about your wits Loki. I’m surprised Tony has yet to say something, though the knowledge that he had and lost a daughter and being reborn to his parents once more is a lot of information. The catch is… that you three will be born of the opposite sex. In Loki’s case, I see that as not a problem since his gender is fluid. However, the famous black widow and Stark playboy are not.” _

_ “Me? A guy? Not sure how I feel about that… Though I bet Tony would play with his boobs all day…” _

_ Tony broke out of his silence when Nat called him out. “Hey! That is so… true… yea I would do that…” he admitted. _

_ Loki chuckled but nodded. “I agree. Being a woman will not be harder or easier than being born a man.” _

_ “I’m glad you agree.” Zehikari mused. “So, are we decided then? After I do this the only time you will remember again is at the age of 16.” _

_ “Uh… yea… What about the others? Like Pepper, Peter, Cap?” Tony asked. “The other ones too. _

_ “Unfortunately, they have not passed in their world. I cannot keep this deal going until they have passed. This will have to be a decision you make. You will have to make do with everyone you had lost once and only them. There will be chances to watch as this world poses something unique. Stories of those reincarnated hail from coming in the form of anime, video games, movies, and TV Shows.” _

_ “Wait… so most of the cast of Game of Thrones is gonna be there?” Tony asked curiously. _

_ “Well… up to the end of season one. I only chose Rheagar Targaryen and Ned Stark. The forced villain and the sacrificial lamb.” _

_ “Jeez, Did Jon’s parents got to be together…?” Tony mused. “Alright… So I get to be a woman and find out how much they enjoyed… “ he looked over at Nat who was giving him a glare. “Their life…” he tried to save. “I think I can do that. Hopefully, I can get closer to my dad this time. After that time travel thing, I feel horrible for not knowing him enough.” _

_ “Yea, being a guy can’t be that bad...” Natalie shrugged. _

_ “Alright, the next thing you remember will be your rebirth.” He thought of snapping his fingers but after what they went through he decided on clapping his hands together instead. _

He passed in the arms of the woman he loved, yet he still felt so much regret. He never had the courage to suggest to Pepper the idea of a polyamorous relationship with another man. Well, _ Tony _ and another man at least… He was too jealous to see Pepper with another guy. If she was to choose a girl then that would be a different idea entirely. She chuckled at the idea of Pepper in a relationship with Nat… or hell even that Danvers woman. though he doubted the other person… on his end... would even agree to it. 

Steve Rogers was old fashioned… only a few years younger than his own father at the time… technically. If it wasn’t for the serum and the ice he probably would have been super old. Tonya didn’t want to think about that…

She was friends with Jeremy (formerly known as Natasha) along with, surprisingly, Lori (formerly known as Loki). When the movies came out in their lifetime, Tonya could not stop making fun of Jeremy since the man who played Clint’s name was Jeremy Renner. The one relationship that she couldn’t get over was how close she got with Lori. 

They were both ambitious and determined to make their parents proud. Lori was less of a dick that he was in the last life, but she was still mischievous. While they were not actually _ dating, _ the two decided to have “friends with unprotected benefits.” While Tonya and Lori were technically female, Lori was still able to have the power to change sex at will with her powers. Tonya was not about to go into the dating scene anytime soon. She felt that loving two people in her previous life that she could not have in this one was too hard. Lori had already given Frigga her memories and tells her mother everything. This is exactly why she did not mind being human in this life as long as she still had all of her power. 

The reason they emphasize “unprotected benefits” is because they still wanted Katerina to be born to them again. Tonya missed out and wanted to know the little girl she never met. Her parents knew and did not like the idea. However, Tonya gave her own father the kiss as well… She would have chosen her mother but after thinking long and hard… She wanted to make it up to her father more than anything. That is why Harold (Howard Stark) Kelvin, of Kelvin Industries (yes… so original Harold), was the one to remember his past. It was only done after the Iron Man movies came out. Tonya wanted him to know how she had felt before he let him know. Harold eventually agreed that the only way to have an heir to his company at this point was to go along with this idea. No scandals or anything.

That is how the 21-year-old ended up with a two-year-old toddler. Little Katerina (2.0 as Tonya called her) was born when Tonya and Lori were still 19. After she was born they no longer had to use the “with benefits” part of their relationship. Instead, they just posed as “roommates” so they could co-parent the adorable little girl. Lori had trouble figuring out what she wanted to do as a human adult. She did love learning but felt no draw to any particular field. Tonya suggested that, for now, Lori became a stay-at-home parent to little Katerina when Tonya was at work in her basement or at her father’s company. Despite the fact that they did not actually _ love _ each other, they both loved Katerina no matter what. The mutual friendship and bond they had were so much closer than anything else. They messed around once in a while, but Lori never changed into her male form anymore to prevent more children. 

When she worked, Tonya pretended the world never existed. She delved deep into her gadgets and forge. She was a blacksmith freelancer and made life-sized versions of various fandom weapons and armor. Lori was ecstatic on her birthday one day when Tonya surprised her with a perfect replica of her old scepter. Obviously this time minus the powerful components. She took a small break to drink some water as she looked up to the wall. The first prized possession she had created perfectly was a replica of Cap’s shield. It hurt her heart whenever she looked at it. It was not the same metal by any means, but it always reminded him that Zehikari told them that those who had not died yet can not appear in their world. No Pepper, no Steve. It also made him extremely jealous when he watched the end of Endgame… when Steve decided to just live in the past with that girl of his…

“Gotta say... I miss you…” she sighed. She was going to start going back to work when she heard a strange sound coming from the other room. On instinct, she grabbed one of the swords and slowly made it towards the sound. As she opened the door she heard a loud thud on the floor and the noise stopped. She was about to attack when she found out who was on her floor…

“St...Steve Rogers?” She asked in disbelief. “Or Chris Evans? Or are you some really good cosplayer? Either one, what are you doing in my forge?” 

Despite her shaking, she kept the sword firm in her grasp. _ What the hell… _She was standing in front of the man she was in love with but could never tell. 

“Chris Evans? Cosplay?” He asked confused. It was then that Tonya realized that his outfit was still the same as when she died. It was dirty, war-torn, and Mjornr was still in his other hand… “What… I was just on the battlefield watching my best friend… Hell, _ more _ than a best friend, die and now I’m in a forge… who are you?”

Tonya went pink when he said _ more _ than a best friend. _ Did he feel the same? Why...didn’t he tell me? Because of Pepper? _

“I’m… Tonya Kelvin… And you came out of a portal in my forge… What did you mean more than friends?” She asked confusing the poor man even more. She was so much in shock that she couldn’t really focus on the fact that she was _ no longer _ Tony Stark. 

Steve raised an eyebrow. “You’re acting as if you know who I am… and what was just happening…”

Before Tonya could respond to him... Lori was frantic on the intercom.

“Tonya, you need to get up here _ now. _ A certain long-lost brother of mine has shown up and I am at a loss of what to do. Katerina is crying because he is being far-too loud…” 

Tonya shook her head trying to get into focus. “Right… I’ll be right up… with Steve Rogers.”

She regretted her reply when Lori came back onto the device. “Oh, so I guess I no longer have to cosplay him in the bedroom.”

“Lori… he heard that you know…”  
“Yes, and we have a crying child. Please come up here. I don’t know how to console her at the moment with my own panicked state…”

Tonya rolled her eyes and turned back to Steve. “Cosplay me… in the bedroom?” he asked in a look that spoke that he was both concerned and flattered at the same time. 

“Yea… it’s… complicated Capsicle. Come on.” She started back upstairs before Steve could fathom that she was using nicknames only Tony Stark had given him before. This was going to be interesting...


	2. Villainous Frost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lori is coming face to face with her brother while his loud voice scares her daughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Since Lori/Loki still has the shape-shifting ability, I will use the pronouns connected to the form that she holds at the time. If she is Lori I will use “she/her” if she is Loki or any other male persona I will use “he/him.”

This new  _ human _ life was very interesting. Lori Ahlgren, formerly known as Loki Laufeyson/Odinson, had been born to a loving home that consisted of his formerly adoptive parents reborn. She was happy this time. No brother to compare to. No King of Asgard to obtain approval of. It was peaceful. Her new reincarnated family never left the roots of Norse Mythology. They were descended from Swedish Vikings and lived in America. They did not worship the Christian God or any other. It was strange once she regained her memories of powers considering before she had… she had practically worshipped herself as her patron God. 

Even before she knew who she truly was, she had been drawn to the fictional and mythological versions of Loki. Her mother Lilli, formerly Frigga of Asgard, had always known she was special from the first mischievous prank she played as a child. The year Tonya and Tonya turned 16 was the same year that the first Avengers movie came out. The morning she woke up to her memories and powers was almost a disaster. It was the summertime, which was ironic considering that she was originally a Frost Giant. 

_ “THOR!” she screamed waking up from her nightmare of memories. She was breathing heavily and grasping her throat where Thanos had broken it. Her mother rushed into the room to find that things were levitating and flying everywhere. Despite her shock, she rushed to Lori’s side and hugged her trying to calm her down.  _

_ “Lori, please tell me what in Frigga’s sake is wrong,” she coaxed. The irony of her words just proved to hurt Lori even more. The items in the room began to calm down as Lori cried and clung to her mother.  _

_ “M...Mother… I’m… so sorry…I’ll… be better this time. I love you I’m sorry...” she choked out. She hugged onto her tightly as if the Dark Elves would come and take her away again.  _

_ “Lori, I know you love me, what has gotten into you?” She asked softly. “How… are you able to move all these things?” _

_ Lori looked up at her so apologetically. All the horrible words she had said to her in that prison. To the point of even saying that she was not his mother… It was then she had remembered that this was a new life. She did not remember. But Lori wanted to. So badly… She sighed sadly as she reached up and kissed her mother’s cheek softly but long enough to work the magic of giving her the memories of Frigga.  _

_ She pulled away and folded her legs to her chest. She felt so much regret now that she was human. She understood human emotions even more than she had before. The guilt, the regret, everything. She turned herself into her former form only in body and not in clothing. Since his gender never wavered from fluidity, he decided when he was feeling particularly masculine that he would use this form from now on in private. He let his black hair fall in front of his deep green eyes. Unkempt as it normally was not.  _

_ It was her mother’s turn to shed tears now. “Lo...ki…” She hugged him tightly “I have already forgiven you, my son…” _

_ “But… I’ve...failed you…” he said softly. “I...I don’t deserve to be your son.” _

_ “The gods gave us another chance to be together. Even if we are human. We are still family. Nothing changes that love,” His long lost mother climbed into bed with him and held him close to her. She kissed his head and made sure to make him feel better. “Now, are you going to change back into the form you have in this life, or do I have to somehow explain to your father that we now have a son and not a daughter?” She added with a soft chuckle.  _

_ “Just… a little longer mother… please.” He asked, _

_ “Of course.” She said softly continuing to rock him. “Though, I wonder if I still have mine now…” she raised her hand to tidy up a little of her room and found that her old powers were back. “That is so much more convenient now. I can clean the house and still have time to read or do something else.”  _

_ Loki chuckled softly, “In other words… do what you always did.” _

_ “Yes. So much more convenient with powers.” _

It had already been 7 years since that year. To this day her mother had still used powers and magic behind her father’s back. Mostly in fun, but also in necessity at times. It was strange when he realized that she, Tonya, and Jeremy had become close friends before they received their memories. She had thought for sure that they would outcast her once they remembered. Instead, they accepted her and forgave her. Especially Tonya. Her reason was that when she was Tony, she had done a lot of bad things in the past. Slept around, didn’t care about his public relations, didn’t care about  _ anything _ really except for himself. Becoming Iron Man and meeting Pepper changed all of that. 

Lori and Tonya quickly grew to be best friends after they both regained memories. It surprised Lori when Tonya suggested that they try to have Katerina reborn again. It would be hardest for Tonya since she would be the one carrying the child this time, especially when she would be the one in the spotlight. To make it make at least a little more sense, Tonya gave her father the memories so that he at least knew that Lori was technically the father. After they had her, they remained best friends with benefits. 

Tonya enjoyed Lori’s power and since they lived together to help raise Katerina, allowed her to take whatever form she felt like taking for the day. That way, depending on the day, Katerina learned to call Lori “mom” or “dad.” Lori’s father was obviously not fond of the relationship. As far as he knew, Lori was a live-in babysitter since he did not know that Lori had the powers that she did. Her mother, on the other hand, doted on the baby girl since she knew for a fact she was her granddaughter.

It was one of the days that Lori took on her birth form and was reading up on Norse Mythology with Katerina. Neither Lori nor Tonya really cared about what religion Katerina would be raised with. Lori decided that she would be raised to learn about all and choose when she was old enough. She also obtained a certification for Early Childhood Education. She did not work in the field, but at the same time she wished to teach Katerina before she went off to Kindergarten. After all, she had the genius genes coming from both parentage. 

She and Tonya planned to tell her about who they really were when she was older, but now was not the right time. They didn’t even let the child watch the Marvel movies until she was old enough to understand.

“Why is Thor so… annoying?” the tiny child asked her “mother.” 

Lori chuckled. “Because, he is not as smart as Loki. We who are intelligent can tell that that oaf is annoying. However, he is kind and gentle. That is why so many love him in both myth and fiction. So you can’t really hate the man.”

“MMmmm.” Katerina huffed a bit. “Grandmother said the same thing…”

Lori laughed softly. “That is why your grandmother is very wise. Wiser than I am.”

“But, your like really smart! Like mommy!” She said with a cute smile. 

“Yes, but even I have flaws. You will understand one day.” Lori gave her daughter a sad smile. She was thankful she could only give one person the kiss of memories. Giving her own child the memory of her parent’s downfall, witnessing her grandmother’s death, and her own would be too much for any parent.

Though before she could go on with her lesson, a strange portal appeared out of nowhere. Katerina screamed and hid behind Lori. Instinctively, she made a dagger appear in order to protect her if for some reason an enemy was to appear in their living room. The portal was loud so it was scaring the four-year-old. A large man with too familiar long, blond hair with a red cape fell to the floor. 

“That’s… impossible…” Lori gasped as she dropped the dagger with a loud  _ clang _ on the wooden floor. “Thor… Odinson…?” she whispered. If she was not in such a state of stressed shock, she would have spoken about the extra weight.

The larger man groaned and got up slowly with the help of his ax. He looked over to the sound of the dagger to look at Lori and Katerina. “Oh, hello there… is this one of Dr. Strange’s tricks? I was on the battlefield… and now I’m… here?”

Lori’s eye twitched a little at the mention of Dr. Strange… remembering how he forced him to fall for a half an hour… “Yes… here… in my… living room…”

“Mother.. I’m scared…” Katerina’s voice said from behind her. 

“Oh there is no need to be afraid of me little one. I am Thor. I’m a hero and an Avenger! Nothing to be scared of!” He said in his normally loud tone of voice. 

This just caused Katerina to cry even more.

Lori sighed in panic frustration. She picked up the toddler and walked to the intercom. 

“Tonya, you need to get up here  _ now. _ A certain long-lost brother of mine has showed up and I am at a loss of what to do. Katerina is crying because he is being far-too loud…” She attempted to keep herself calm, but she was panicking. A negative trait she earned from a life as a human girl. 

“Long lost… brother?” Thor questioned somewhat on edge now. “Hella? Is that you? I thought we killed you… You look different. More like Loki…”

“No… I’m not Hella…” she didn’t mean to snap, but the anxiety drove her to it. 

“Right… I’ll be right up… with Steve Rogers.” Tonya’s voice finally appeared over the intercom. She seemed just as shaken up as she was.

“Steve Rogers? Steve Rogers is here? What is... cosplay?” Thor said trying to walk closer, but then he got a closer look at the dagger… “wait… this is…”

“Oh, so I guess I no longer have to cosplay him in the bedroom.” Her retort was to distract herself from Thor’s questions. She really did not need this right now. 

“Lori… he heard that you know…” her friend’s annoyed voice came over the speaker.

“Yes, and we have a crying child. Please come up here. I don’t know how to console her at the moment with my own panicked state…” She finally said. She didn’t wait for Tonya to respond before she went into Katerina’s room. 

“Hey, listen… Let’s stay here for a little while ok? Read more of this book or work on one of your projects,” she suggested.

“Mother… he scares me…” she whimpered. “I want mommy…”

“Mommy will be right up ok love?” 

“Lori… any idea what’s going on?” Tonya’s voice asked from the living room. 

“Mommy!” Katerina ran out and hugged onto her leg. Tonya smiled and scooped her up.

“Hey, there’s nothing to be afraid of. Thor is… well he’s big but he’s not a bad guy ok?” Tonya rocked her a bit and kissed her forehead. The small child clung to her maternal parent still whimpering and gave a small yawn. “Ah, I see what’s going on, you need a nap,” she smirked. 

“No… no nap…” She huffed. Lori gave a small smile and took her in her arms. 

“Yes, nap…” she sighed giving a look to Tonya. “We will have burgers if you take one right now alright?”

“Yes!” Tonya whispered in acclamation before she cleared her throat. It was mainly so the adults could talk. It was a tactic he and Pepper used sometimes with Morgan. He watched as Lori took little Tonya to her bedroom and then placed a special illusion in her room so the child didn’t hear anything. 

“You...are Loki… how? Is this a trick?” Thor asked. 

“No, it isn’t a trick.” his former brother sighed. She turned back into her male form and then back. “It’s called reincarnation. Mother and father are here as well. However, only mother knows about the past.”

“Re...incarnation?” Steve asked before Thor could. He looked at Tonya who was fidgeting in her seat. It’s what she did instead of drink this time around. She remembered just how bad she was reliant on alcohol as Tony and instead decided to swear off Alcohol. Though, he was eyeing the cabinet that held Lori’s wine that she drank on occasion.

“Yes.” Lori nodded. “I apologize for all the pain I caused in my previous life… being reborn as a human seems to have taught me a great deal…” she admitted.

Thor, who was just staring at Lori for the longest time could say nothing. All he could do was get up and pull her into a bear hug… or  _ Thor _ hug. “Loki…”

“Ow… human… woman… body… too strong… hurts…” Lori complained trying to tap out of the hug.

Tonya couldn’t help but snicker a little at that. “Well… happy reunion huh?” she said nervously. “I can’t take it…” she got up and headed towards the wine cabinet. 

Lori quickly phased out of Thor’s grasp and appeared in front of Tonya. “I thought you were swearing off liquor this time around,” she said with her arms crossed. 

“Its… nerves. Habit!” Tonya huffed. “Just one glass. I haven't had a drop since I turned 21.”

“Fine, but if you empty my wine case your buying me more. Those were an expensive gift from my mother,” she mused. While she was at it getting to her old self, she decided to finally say something about her brother’s weight gain. “And Thor, if you two are staying for dinner your having salad. You’re also not getting a hold of the wine. I know you prefer beer anyway.” 

Thor blinked a little at the comments. “You sound like mother…”

“Yes, well… I  _ do _ care brother…” she said with a frown. 

“This… still isn’t making sense.” Steve finally said. He was noticing how similar Tonya was to Tony. “Thor and I were just on the battlefield paying respect to a fallen Avenger and best friend… and now we… we’re here… Is this another world or something?”

“Yep. Similar to Earth. People reincarnate from other worlds and Universes…” Tonya said before drinking the first sip of alcohol she’s had since she was Tony Stark. Loki, Nat and I are the only ones who remember anything... well other than my dad and her mom… Loki goes by Lori now by the way… unless she’s in a masculine mood then he goes back to Loki. Damn this tastes amazing. Why did I swear off alcohol again?”

“Because in the last life you were drunk most of the time,” Lori rolled her eyes. 

“Your… Tony aren't you?” Steve finally asked putting it together.

Tonya froze with his back turned to everyone. It was bad enough that he was still reeling from watching the deleted scene at the end of Endgame. She truly did not expect everyone to give him so much appreciation and love. She always felt as though she never deserved it. “I’m… gonna go look at Doordash… Wendy’s sound good for dinner Lori?” She didn’t wait for a response and instead went into her room with the glass of wine closing the door behind her. 

Lori sighed with a frown. “You’ll have to… excuse her… In this world there are also movies based off of our last life. The movie where Tony Stark died recently came out along with a deleted scene where everyone gives him a tribute. That, along with the funeral that was given to him made her very overwhelmed.”

Thor sat down sadly. “So… he was right... “

“Yes…” Lori nodded. Before she could say another word, Jeremy’s number came up on her. She picked it up and answered. “Hello?”

“Lori… is anything weird happening around you? Bruce… in half-hulk form and Clint just showed up in my living room! I was just headed out to teach my next class!” His voice was frantic, and so were the thoughts going through Lori’s head… Clint...he hates Loki for what he did… and Hulk...She shivered at the thought. Yes, they had somewhat made up by the end, but… he still scared her. 

“Well… Perhaps let them stay at your place and figure something out when you get back?” she suggested out of personal preference. “We kind of have our hands full here with Thor and Steve Rogers.”

“Really?” his sassy and annoyed tone came out the other end. “I only live in a small one bedroom apartment you know. Tonya and you have a four-bedroom  _ house _ . I think it’s better to take them there while I go teach kids how to kick ass. I’m sure they’d  _ love _ to see you alive and well.”

Lori went pale with that comment. “You… really know how to get under my skin… Fine. But if Rodgers can’t coax Tonya out of her room your doing it before you leave.”

“Fine… I’ll kick her ass if I have to…” she huffed. 

Lori heard the phone click and turned to Steve. “I suggest you try to coax her out… I… I’m going to… rest in my daughter’s room.” 

“You’re hiding? That’s not like you Loki…” Thor asked.

“It...is when someone who smashed me to the ground and another who hates my guts is coming over…” She didn’t mind being called Loki. It was still part of her after all. She watched as Steve got up and knocked softly on Tonya’s door. She was nervous more than anything about what was going on… 


	3. 3: Black Widow Diaries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeremy, the reincarnation of Natasha Romanov, finds himself in a pickle when Bruce Banner and Clint Barton show up in his small one-bedroom apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I’m so sorry for the seriously too-long delay. Due to personal and mental issues I haven’t been able to really get around to this fic till now. Because of certain personal changes in my own life, the pairings and such will be changing slightly. Especially because Tony is technically the main character this version is based off of a version of me. Updated pairings: Nat/Bruce (slight), Nat/Clint (for old times sake), FrostIron, and confessions of IronShield. Tonya and Steve will not become a thing. It will just be for the case of drama and tragedy. Also… Nat/Jeremy was harder to write for. Never wrote for Black Widow before.

Jeremy could not get away from his love of fighting. When he was a child, he always wanted to fight. He read comics and play video games all the time. He was always made fun of for liking Black Widow over most of the male heroes of  _ Marvel _ , but he got a better understanding of why when he turned 16 years old. Out of Lori and Tonya, he was the last to get the memories since he was the youngest. 

After the initial shock of the memories of the life of Natasha Romanov (and now fluent in Russian), he then realized… that his name was the same as the actor who played Hawkeye.  _ The guy did say he was also a god of mischief… _ he sighed at the thought. He really missed his best friend. Honestly, no one knew, but she had a crush on Clint. More than that really. Not like their relationship would go anywhere anyway… considering the lack of ability to have children and his family... 

He finished with his morning workout and was making breakfast when a portal came out of nowhere in his living room. He dropped his bowl on the counter instinctively grabbing a knife. He got into position while Clint Barton fell through the portal.  _ What is going on? Did Strange find this world?  _ He thought. He was going to put the knife down when he got up aiming his arrow.

“Who are you? Where am I?” Barton asked obviously in just as much shock as Jeremy was. He aimed to put the knife down slowly.

He decided he should at least try to go along pretending he didn’t know anything. “How the hell should I know? You just fell into my living room! Look, if you put the bow down, I’ll put the knife down. We can figure this out,” he was trying to hide how freaked out he was. Resisting the urge to curse in Russian, he put the knife on the counter while Clint put the bow down. “My name is Jeremy,” he said calmly. “Kinda confusing but I kind of already know who you are…”

His introduction was interrupted by another portal opening. This time, an injured half-hulk fell to the floor. Jeremy was so grateful that he lived on the bottom floor but was nervous since he’d have to give a good excuse for why there was a mini crater in his living room now. Why did both of the men he loved have to show up like this? He was just getting used to his civilian life. Why now?

“Ok, to fast-forward the intro I’m Jeremy and I’m a teacher at the local Martial Arts place. You guys suddenly showed up here somehow from another world that’s a comic book, movie franchise, and everything else here. So I know your Clint Barton and Bruce Banner.” He explained in a hurried and anxious breath. “Let me call someone real quick…” 

Jeremy picked up the phone and saw it was the time Tonya usually worked so he called Lori instead. 

“Lori… is anything weird happening around you? Bruce… in half-hulk form and Clint just showed up in my living room! I was just headed out to teach my next class!” When it was something important, he never did the introductions and cut to the chase. It's something he never really lost. 

“Well… Perhaps let them stay at your place and figure something out when you get back?” she suggested out of personal preference. “We kind of have our hands full here with Thor and Steve Rogers.” 

_ Are you kidding me? Still, scarred from that experience huh? _

“Really?” he decided to use the one thing he knew was bothering Lori to his advantage “I only live in a small one-bedroom apartment you know. Tonya and you have a four-bedroom  _ house _ . I think it’s better to take them there while I go teach kids how to kick ass. I’m sure they’d love to see you alive and well.”

“You… you really know how to get under my skin… Fine. But if Rodgers can’t coax Tonya out of her room you're doing it before you leave.”

Jeremy smirked. He got him… but now she had to deal with the infamous Tony- _ a _ .“Fine… I’ll kick her ass if I have to…” He rolled his eyes before hanging up. 

“Ok… now, how am I going to hide a hulk-sized guest? Hm, Could just say it's a costume…” he said to himself. “Like… a really good lifelike costume and a really buff cosplayer… or something.”

“Cosplayer?” Bruce asked confused. “What are you talking about anyway? People dress up like us here? I know you said something about us being known.”

“Yea… people go to these conventions and do these kick-ass costumes and stuff. I cosplay a gender-bent and sometimes cross-play Natasha Romanov.” He got the pictures on his phone and went to his Facebook gallery of Black Widow cosplay. He had fun going to conventions with Tonya and Lori to ironically or un-ironically cosplay their past selves in either gender-bent or normal form. Though, Lori cheated a lot when she was too lazy to do really good makeup or build a costume…

“Wow, you look just like her. How did you pull that off?” Barton asked. He could tell he was still mourning her. It hurt her heart. 

“Eh, Great makeup and prosthetics. And don’t give me that look. I can tell it’s after she died Barton. You know fully well sacrificed herself so that you can go back to your family. Don’t give me that crap ok?” He didn’t realize how personal he was making this, at least until  _ after _ he said it. He turned a bit red and put his phone away. “Ok, let’s get your arm wrapped up and we can go to Tanya and Lori’s place. They have a huge house with four bedrooms. This place is too small for you two.”

Barton was a bit in shock over the mini-rant he was given but stayed quiet. Jeremy could tell that Clint was trying to put it together, but Bruce was the one who seemed to really do it. He was also known for his smarts after all. Jeremy went into his first aid kit and went to wrap up the snapped up arm and put it in a sling made out of a triangular bandage. When Barton walked into the other room to get some time to himself, Bruce decided to finally say something. 

“Your her… aren’t you?” he asked.

Jeremy bit his lip and pulled tight making the big man wince. He didn’t say anything though. 

“I know that look, and that silence. How did…”

“Reincarnation.” Jeremy knew there wasn’t any way he was going to fool Banner. “Some god decided to have everyone in our Universe reborn into this one. Did the same thing for other Universes too. Me and two others were special though. One died a hero and the other was a misguided villain. I was the sacrifice obviously. So seeing as you’re hurt like this and not bandaged than Tony just defeated Thanos?” He asked.

“Yea, he did,” Bruce said with a frown. “You don’t want me to tell Barton, do you?”

“No… It took all I have right now to tell you. I still love you, you know.” He added softly. 

“Yea, I know,” he nodded. “I’m sorry for leaving you.”

“Hey, not your fault you were sent to space,” he said nudging him. “Look at you now! You figured out how to do both. Plus, you got to kick Thor’s ass and make Loki shit himself. That shit was hilarious,” he chuckled. 

Bruce laughed. “How do you know all that?”

Jeremy chuckled as he explained. “Not only are we all reborn here, but there are actors who play our parts in movies and TV shows. It's scary how they look just like us. It's weird to say, but I got a really big thing for the actress who plays me… is that too much like Tony?”

“No, you’re always beautiful.” 

“Even now? You telling me something Banner?”

“Hey, I’m just saying…” 

“It’s ok Bruce. Apparently everyone has at least a little bit of bisexual in us. Hell, even Tony.”

“You're saying that like it's not obvious he had a thing for Steve. Maybe even me.”

Jeremy couldn’t help it and laughed so hard. Tonya told him and Lori  _ everything _ one day when they all were hanging out. Who she always crushed on and everything. Bruce had him down to at.

“I can’t wait for her to see you guys again. That is if I don’t kick her ass for retreating into her bedroom…” 

“So you really are Nat?” Bruce and Jeremy looked to the doorway. Barton was standing there holding what looked like a stack of papers.

“Great… you found my fanfiction diaries…” Jeremy frowned. “I’m not a girl anymore, but really. It says  _ Black Widow Diaries _ right on the front. Privacy much?”

Barton didn’t say anything but just went up and hugged him. Tight. Jeremy could tell he didn't care that he was currently a male. He was still  _ his _ Nat. He could feel tears coming so he pushed him off slightly. “Come on Barton, I can’t get to work on time if I get all teary-eyed. We can talk later alright? For now, you two gotta get to Tonya’s house. It's way bigger than this one bedroom. 

Jeremy’s boys agreed and followed him out. Jeremy had a cloak she had from one of the cosplays he did so he had Bruce wear it as a cover. They couldn’t draw attention now. He had a spare key for instance when Tonya was being… Tony… and when Lori needed help. He walked them both into the living area. “Alright, where is she?” 

When they arrived in the living area, Thor was sitting in the living room alone. “Where’s Lori?” he demanded.

“Apparently hiding from those two in his...her...his daughter’s room? Do you know how to get into their wine?” Thor asked.

“Ugh, if I did I wouldn’t tell you. She enjoys her wine too much to have it drained from her brother... huh, oops,” Jeremy didn’t exactly mean to out that Lori was technically Loki but he didn’t actually care anyway. “You two stay with Thor. If Steve didn’t get through to Tonya yet then don’t be surprised if you see a woman who formerly went by Tony Stark comes flying down the steps.”

He didn’t wait for a reply and went to Tony’s room to see Steve locked out of it. “Hey, Steve… I’ll take it from here.” He nudged his old best friend out of the way and banged on the door. “Tonya. You know I can easily bust this door down. Steve was probably just being nice like he always is. You’re getting out here and facing them before I leave. Barton and Banner both already know who I am and they figured you were here so come back out and entertain your old friends! I got work to go to!”

Steve stared at Jeremy. “Nat?”

He cursed in Russian. “Yes. Yes, I am… and I need to get to work…”

“Fine! Fine… I’ll come out…” Tonya said coming out of her room. “Please don’t hurt me.”

“Go downstairs and answer any questions. Bruce kinda figured me out and Barton found my...diary.”

“I told you you should publish it on a fanfiction site…”

“Shut up and go downstairs Stark…” he said rolling his eyes. “Lori hid in Kat’s room…”

“Well if Barton and Banner are here… obviously.” He frowned. “She locked the wine cabinet didn’t she?”

“Thor is alone downstairs. Of course, she did.”

“Yea yea, go teach the kids.” He said closing his bedroom door before Steve could peek inside. 

“We can talk later ok Steve?” Jeremy said with a soft smile and a hug. He really was his best friend back then. He told him everything… even things he couldn’t tell Barton. Vice Versa really. Jeremy grabbed his things again and headed off to the school. This was going to be another adventure. Something he thought they left behind.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tonya finally leaves her room and Katerina wakes up to a horrible nightmare... or is it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I updated the last chapter and I'm adding this one. I hope you enjoy it!

Tonya wasn’t looking Steve in the eye while they went downstairs. She was still shaking. What was going on that they showed up here? They never found Thanos’ reincarnation, but she was starting to worry that he was here and doing something with the stones or something else that was causing all of this. 

“Tony…” Steve tried to say.

“Tonya. It’s Tonya now. I’m a girl now....” she corrected. 

“You can’t keep avoiding us… me…”

“Why not? We just gotta find a way to get you guys back in your world. You need to get back to Peggy… Damn it. Spoilers…” Tonya went to the wine cabinet in an attempt to open it. Unfortunately for her, Lori put a very strong lock on there for cases like this. 

“That’s… definitely Tony…” Barton said, rolling his eyes.

“Oh, hey Barton... and Banner. No wonder Lori is hiding in Kat’s room. She’s still traumatized about what happened in New York.”

“So, Loki really is here huh?” Clint asked. 

“Yep, and she’s totally emotional when it comes to what she did. Humanity did a lot for her. She’s a lot different. Kinder, still mischievous, but better. In fact, she still has the ability to change form. Apparently I met Loki back in 2000 when I was still that party-hardy Tony. Not the family-friendly one Pepper made. I didn’t know since he was in the form of a really sexy woman. You know how I was back then I couldn’t resist. Turns out Loki had a kid from that. Didn’t tell anyone. Except for Frigga.”

“He kept that secret even from me?” Thor asked with a frown.

“He was afraid Odin would not approve and send her away to Earth,” Tonya explained. “She...she died when your mom was killed. Frigga kept her hidden in a closet even hiding her from Jane. The Dark Elves killed her too, but I guess… No one told you about Katerina. Honestly, it made me pissed when he told me since I would have wanted to know her. But I guess this is our second chance to have her. We’re more like friends with benefits, but we wanted to give her a better life and raise her together. Even if my mom has no idea Lori is technically her dad and if her father doesn’t know either. I definitely miss Morgan and Pepper, but, I got my little mischief-maker now,” she finished with a soft smile. Tonya shook her head and started fidgeting in her seat again. “Sorry, didn’t want to get all sappy.” 

“Hey, I like this side of you Tony...a,” Steve noted.

“If it's easier to say Tony just say, Tony. It’s technically short for it anyway,” she shrugged. 

“Of course she would lock the cabinet. That glass of wine was the only glass I had in my whole life. I did well so far!”

“Well, I guess Lori has some common sense…” Clint said with an eye-roll.

“Ugh, you and Jeremy both say that… I swear you two are twins,” Tonya whined. 

She would have said more, but there was a scream coming from Katerina’s room. Instinct kicked in and Tonya grabbed a hard pipe that she was using for a cosplay and ran upstairs with the rest of the Avengers in tow. It was just like old times it seemed with this. Though Bruce stayed downstairs. The steps were a bit too narrow for him. When Tonya opened the door, she found Lori (in Loki form) holding a shaking and terrified Katerina close to him. Her child’s toys were in the air and going crazy. Similar to what Loki described what happened when she woke up with the memories. She saw there was no more danger, so she put the pipe down. It was bothering her bad arm anyway. “Hey, What’s wrong?” She asked softly joining them on the bed.

“I don’t know, she woke up screaming and grabbed hold of me, why did they follow you up here?” he asked nervously.

“My guess is an old habit, hey Kat, what’s wrong sweetie? You can tell mommy right?” she asked softly.

Though, this time Kat seemed to not want to let go of Loki. “Mum… grandmother…”

“Is… is that British? Did our daughter just speak British?”

“Tony… that’s an accent, not a language…” Steve said with a soft eye roll. He was concerned too but he still enjoyed poking fun… Even if the others stared at him. It seemed he still had his  _ old man _ moments. 

Tonya ignored them and went back to his daughter. “Hey, sweetie. Whatever you dreamed about, it's just a dream ok? Nothing is going to hurt you.”

“The...the bad guys with the pointy ears? They...they're gone?” she asked, shaking.

“Pointy… wait… dark elves?” Tonya covered Kat’s ears temporarily and looked at Loki. “She’s not supposed to remember that. We didn’t show her that. She’s only four…”

Loki stared at their daughter in just as much shock and started to shake a little himself. “Hey, they are not going to hurt you anymore ok? We won’t let you and your uncle Thor definitely won’t let that happen. Right Thor?” Tonya said trying to calm the two of them down. She looked over at Thor.

“What? Yes, of course, I’m here to protect you.” It still surprised Tonya that the large man could muster such a soft voice. 

“Katerina, stay here with your mummy alright? I… need to step out.”

Tonya seemed to understand as he went out into the hallway. Thor didn’t follow him and instead took his place. It took a bit to get the hesitant child to trust Thor, it seemed, but in the end, she hugged onto his large belly. 

“You...you look like Santa…” she said softly.

“Heh, funny you say that when your grandfather is technically Santa, at least according to some Norse stories.”

“Who is Santa?” Thor asked confused. 

Tonya sighed. This was going to be a day and it hadn’t even started. Did she really remember fourteen years up on Asgard? Her accent even changed. She couldn’t imagine how traumatized she was now since she was only four and witnessed her grandmother’s death along with her own. At least she, Loki… Lori… whatever, and Jeremy didn’t remember until they were 16 and saw a good chunk of the franchise. Not to mention comic books. Zehikari better get his godly ass down to this world and explain himself soon!


	5. A Reason for Madness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lori is terrified for his little girl, and Zehikari comes to visit them to explain why this is all happening and how to fix it.

Loki was terrified for his little girl. He could not imagine what his daughter could have remembered. He was locked in that glass prison cell at the time of his mother’s death. All he could do was stand outside of Katerina’s room like a coward. 

“Hey, you doing ok?” The voice made Loki jump. Barton? He looked over a bit nervously.

“I’m… fine…” he said with his voice shaking. “I’m going to try to process this in my room…”

Loki went to go towards his room but the archer stopped him by grabbing his arm. “Hey, look I know you're not the same Loki that messed with my head back then. Nat… Jeremy told me and Banner everything. If you all know anything about me I’m a parent too. I know what it’s like to lose a kid, even if my case was temporary. I’m still not over what you did to me, but you’re different now and I can’t just ignore that. If Na...Jeremy and Tony trust you now, then so will I.”

Loki was a bit confused about the soft tone that Barton gave him. He was quiet at first but then decided to speak.

“It’s my fault... “ he said softly. “If I didn’t let my jealousy get the best of me and let Thanos use me as he did, I would have never done what I did on Midgard. I would have never used you and the others as well. If that didn’t happen… if I wasn’t imprisoned indefinitely by Odin because of it. I could have at least tried to save both my mother and Katerina. I could have secretly brought her to Tony and he could have protected her… or something.” He hated crying in this form, so he changed back into the form she was born in. Lori. She leaned against the railing that was designed like a loft in their large home. She couldn’t take this. None of it. Especially one of those she hurt most showing her kindness. “If only… I never told Frigga she wasn’t my mother…” She added softly. 

Clint frowned while Bruce walked over slowly after overhearing what Lori had said. He knew she was scared of him still, so he didn’t want to set her off. Both of the men, though they once fought her… well, he at the time, together as Avengers could not help but forgive her. Jeremy was right. Humanity really did a number on her… him… them.

“Hey,” Bruce said in the softest voice he could give without startling her. “Look, that was then. You have a new life now. You’re happy right? If I could start over I would never even get near radioactive activity without protection. Even if it was to save lives or anything. I would have never become the Hulk. I saw you change when we met on Sakaar and then when we saved the people of Asgard. You could have escaped and been on your way but you didn’t. You stayed. I don’t know what exactly happened after I was thrown back to Earth, but I saw how devastated Thor was after you died. He didn’t tell me much but he did tell me you saved his life. Don’t dwell on the past. None of us can change that. Trust me,” he went over to gently touch her trying to help her calm down. 

Lori jumped a bit from the touch. She was trying so hard not to show how much of a mess she was right now. She always refused to show it in front of her daughter since she was so young and impressionable. She looked up at the large hulk with human thoughts and voice as well the archer who was showing kindness towards her. “I...really don’t deserve this. I hurt both of you. I’m truly sorry for that. For everything that I’ve done. I was just so full of rage and jealousy. I know Thor has already forgiven me… and so has my mother.”

“That is exactly what is needed to have things go right.” The voice came from behind Lori making her and the two men jump. Clint took out his bow and Lori made daggers appear until she realized who he was. She sighed angrily and put a dagger to his neck. 

“Tell me why my daughter got memories of her former self and why they are here!” she demanded. 

“You know him?” Clint asked.

“Yes, he is the one who gave Tony, Natasha and me a second chance. Zehakari, the god of mischief and reincarnation,” Lori said a little angry.

“That’s true, and now I’m here to tell you how to make things go back to normal before this world is destroyed. It seems you all are not the only ones affected,” Zahakari explained. “I need to speak to you all once Jeremy is back from work. Which should be soon at this point,” he said with a smile.

“You’re going to have an earful. He’s not so fond of that name and the irony of the man who plays Barton…” Lori said with a smirk.

“I couldn’t help myself,” Zehakari added his own little amused smirk. “I’m a god of mischief too, remember? At least Tonya’s name was not the same as the woman who played Pepper. It’s a very unique spelling after all.”

“What are you even talking about?” Clint asked, now extremely confused. 

“The man who plays you has the name, Jeremy Renner.”

“Huh, interesting,” he said, putting his bow away again. It seemed to Lori that no harm was done now. Everything was forgiven… even if she felt she did not deserve any of it. 

Zehakari stayed in the living room sitting with tea that Lori had given him. She still was not happy that his daughter had remembered things, so he better damn well explain. Eventually, the others came down and they all ordered Wendys. Lori made Tonya order a salad for her brother’s meal as well as her own. She had a favorite and she knew what it was. While they were waiting, Katerina had opened up a bit more and sat on her uncle’s lap listening to stories. Lori was happy to see her smiling again at least. It was a great distraction. 

“-and then I beat down all the creatures all by myself with Mjolnir,” the god of thunder said dramatically. 

Lori rolled her eyes. “I remember that very differently, brother. I believe Sif is the one who took most of them down while I had to duck away from your reckless throwing of the hammer. I had to scare one of the guards in order for us to get out of there too if I remember correctly. The old turn-into-a-large-snake trick,” she smirked.

“Lady Sif did not take down  _ most _ of them, brother...sister. A quarter of them at least!” Thor exclaimed. “Also, you have turned into a snake many times. Especially when we were children and stabbed me.” 

“When will you let that one go brother? We were children,” Lori said, rolling her eyes. 

“Who is Lady Sif uncle Thor? Is she nice?” Kat asked, smiling. She loved being told stories. Even in her previous life, she begged for stories from Frigga and Loki before bed. She may have been 14 when she died, but since she was half Frost Giant she looked only to be a child. She had the mind of one as well. 

“Yes, she is. I have not seen her in a while, but I believe she is alright,” Thor frowned. 

“Was she taken when Thanos snapped?” Lori asked softly.

“Yes, during the final battle I did not see her return with the others.”

“I’m sure she is fine,” Lori said with a comforting smile. “This is Lady Sif after all, a little battle will not take her down very easily.”

“I’m here and I got your text. What the hell is going on Zehikari?” Jeremy walked in with the food they had ordered. Instead of Doordash, Tonya had texted Jeremy all of the food orders. Saves on delivery at least. He gave out all the food and sat down next to Clint trying not to glare at the god.

Lori was going to pay attention to what Zehikari was going to say when she realized Tonya ordered a taco salad for Thor. Not a regular  _ healthy _ salad. “Tonya…”

“What? You didn’t give specifics to what kind of salad!” she said, taking out her own bag of burgers and handing one to Katerina.

Lori huffed and ignored it. “Please, just tell us what is going on.” 

“Alright, well it seems my experimental test has a large flaw,” Zehikari began but Jeremy immediately glared. 

“Experimental test? We’re just some experiment?” he yelled. She also added a bit of Russian to her sentence which was obviously some explicit language usage.

“Yes, and no. It is not just you three. I’ve chosen three, sometimes less, to be reborn and gain memories and powers just like you. However, it seems that in doing so it has caused a domino effect. Throughout this world people who are still living and close to people remembering have come through portals. Because of this, the memories from those who were not already able to remember are slowly returning once they have gone to sleep. Along with these memories come the powers as well. Another effect that has occurred is that the creatures that were evil and such have been pouring into this world as a side effect.”

“Wait, evil creatures? Like… White Walkers? Dementors from Harry Potter?” Tonya asked. “Plus all the creatures we faced back in our universe? How exactly are we supposed to stop all that? Go all Avengers assemble mode plus Loki? Are we supposed to get all the others? Like the Night’s Watch, Dumbledore’s Army, stuff like that? I’m really all “war”ed out. Plus I don’t have the same tech to make suits.”

“What are you talking about mommy?” Katerina asked curiously.

Lori chimed in taking her daughter onto her lap. “It’s nothing you need to worry about.” She did an illusion to keep the child distracted. “Tonya, you're overreacting a bit,” Lori warned. 

“Sure, I’m overreacting because a bunch of evildoers from a bunch of other worlds are coming here. Nothing to worry about,” she said rolling her eyes.

Zehikari sighed. “Unfortunately Tonya is right. However, I had not finished explaining. I figured out what can send everyone back to their own worlds. The citizens of this one will still remember who they were and keep the same powers and knowledge. What needs to happen is for each individual to gain closure. Everyone who has come through is specific for those tasks. I believe Lori has already gotten hers, in a way. The only thing that needs to happen is for her to forgive herself.”

“Forgive myself? What is that supposed to mean Zehikari?” she asked with a frown. “How do you know I even obtained any closure?”

“Why do you ask, sister?” Thor asked. He may be stupid at times, but he always seemed to be able to understand these types of things. “I have forgiven you long ago. You have even saved my life. Does that not mean closure?”

“Partially right,” Zehikari confirmed. “Closure means both ways. You must forgive yourself after being forgiven by the ones you have hurt most. Once closure and any secrets have been told is when everyone will go back to their timelines without any memory of what has happened. The only ones to remember are those who reside in this world. After all, you have not gained closure from Odin yet, have you, Lori?”

“No… does that mean he will remember once he sleeps?” Lori asked with a frown. “I should warn mother…” She got up and used her cell phone to call her mother.

“Yes, Lori? Is something wrong?” her mother asked. 

“Mother… Father will remember everything tonight. As well as everyone else in this world. Something has happened and it's all because I was allowed to remember along with Tonya and Jeremy.” Her voice was shaky and full of fear. What if he never forgave her? Sure she had seen the sadness in Odin’s eyes in the first film and the sadness he had when he had died because of Hel. The alternative scene where they found him in an alleyway was the true ending. The one where Loki had begged Hel not to kill him. Where Odin seemed to know Loki wanted him to stay alive still even if he took the throne. 

“Lori,” her mother said in the softest, motherly tone. “I will be there for him when he wakes. Please don’t keep blaming yourself for everything. We will work things through. I know there is something else you aren’t telling me as well.”

“Thor is here, mother,” she said softly. “As well as Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, and, well, Bruce Banner Hulk. Zehikari came and told us that we have to gain closure from the previous life. Including any secrets that any party has held against the other. It’s the only way for them and any enemy creatures or being to go back to their original universe.”

There was a soft pause on the other phone after Lori heard her mother gasp at Thor’s name. “Perhaps you and Thor could come over tomorrow for dinner? Just the two of you? I feel that will help with at least some of the closure. I know you are afraid of what your father will say to you, but I want to help.”

Lori breathed out and sighed with a small smile. “Mother, you have always been too kind. Thank you,” they both said their goodbyes and she went back to the group where they were now silently eating. Zehikari had apparently left while he was on the phone. Simple instruction was his thing after all. 

“Thor, mother wants to have dinner with us tomorrow. After father has remembered things,” she told him.

“Mom! What about me!?” Katerina asked. She was still so young and confused. 

“You, little girl, are going to go with me and uncle Steve to see your other grandpa and grandma. Apparently my dad had the same idea and knew your mom most likely wanted to see just the two of you. I really hope he doesn’t go all crazy with Cap like he used to do…” Tonya said with a frown putting her own phone on the table. 

“Or maybe he has unfinished business to say to him,” Jeremy told her. “Too bad I don’t have any parents to remember my old life with…”

“Your dad wanted me to come?” Steve asked. 

“Yea, of course, he does…” he said with a soft sigh. “I mean, when I was a kid he really talked about you a lot more than he talked about me. Last time anyway. This time around we made up and he really made sure he was the father of the year award. I’m just worried he’s gonna fall back into his old ways.”

Lori frowned and hugged Tonya from the back. “Hey, we both had daddy issues. I think this is our chance to make up for it right? I mean my biological dad back then left me to die, and I was ungrateful to my adoptive father. Now he’s my real one. Zehikari gave us this second chance. He kissed Lori on the cheek and went back to her seat. She didn’t really want to tell Tonya, but perhaps that is why Zehikari made it clear secrets had to be told. The fact was, she had only seduced Tony back then for fun. In this life, they became very good friends. Even more so after having Katerina and living together. It caused her to realize that she was in love with Tonya. Steve Rogers being her wasn’t exactly going to be a fun thing. At least for her.


End file.
